


You Are Home To Me

by Panta



Series: Oumota Week 2019 [1]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Mild Language, Prostitution, Violence, injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-21
Updated: 2019-07-21
Packaged: 2020-07-10 06:57:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19901653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Panta/pseuds/Panta
Summary: In a broken world, where the dead walk and supplies run scarce, everyone does what they have to do to survive. Kaito knows this all too well.Kokichi, unfortunately, knows it even better.-My very late submission for Oumota Week Day 6: Apocalypse AU.





	You Are Home To Me

**Author's Note:**

> Please excuse the abhorrent pacing.  
> Formatting only worked in the second half I guess? Thanks Google Docs.

Based on Kaito’s tracking of the lunar cycle, it’s been just over a month since the outbreak when he finally comes across a group of survivors who don’t immediately try to kill him. As a matter of fact, they save his life.

He’d run out of food days before, hands shaking and throwing off his aim despite his best efforts to save precious ammunition. The dead were closing in quickly, cold fingers grasping at the free sleeve of his coat as he ran. His entire body ached, the wounds in his leg and side throbbing horribly. He’d been caught by surprise, this time.

_ Is this how the Luminary of the Stars dies? _ Kaito wondered, magenta eyes flickering upwards.  _ Without ever reaching them? _ As the inevitable drew closer, he thought back on the people he’d lost, the people he’d failed.

His grandparents, who succumbed to the virus before he even had the chance to come home.  _ You deserved more… _

His sidekicks, his best friends, who he’d sworn to protect but had abandoned in order to rescue the only family members he had left, only to find their corpses instead.  _ You deserved better… _

His boyfriend, who he’d given nothing but a rushed kiss goodbye, brash and impulsive as ever.  _ What I wouldn’t give to see you again… _

Finally his body gave out, collapsing to the ground mere feet away from the walking dead.

_ Let me hear your voice, one last time… _

Darkness clouded his vision, pulling him into its depths as a gunshot rang out.

The last thing his brain registered was the sound of his own name, before fatigue took over and swallowed him whole.

-=+=+=-

“Yo avocadick, is that who I think it is?”

“Do you have to call me that?”

“Holy shit it is!”

“. . .well, I’ll be damned.”

-=+=+=-

When Kaito awakens, he’s in a bed. A  _ bed. _ A real fucking bed, with a blanket pulled up to his chest and a pillow beneath his head, like the whole outbreak had never even happened. The warmth and comfort are like heaven on the destroyed Earth.

Slowly, he opens his eyes, finding another person pressed against his chest. Immediately he slams them shut yet again.  _ I don’t want to wake up from this dream. Not yet. _ It’s just too good to be true.

_ Please, let me have this lie for a little bit longer. _

“I’m a  _ liar _ , Kaito,” comes a soft, muffled voice. “Not a  _ lie _ .”

“Don’t do that,” the former astronaut whispers back, voice pained. “Don’t make me believe I’m really with you again.” Tears burning his eyes, he holds the specter of his boyfriend as close as he can.

“Get some more sleep, my beloved. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

_ Oh, if only that were true. _

-=+=+=-

Kaito wakes up refreshed but alone.

He surveys the room and desperately pats the space beside him, but the sheets have long gone cold. He sighs, frustrated.  _ It really was just a dream… _

Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, Kaito notes absently that his wounds have been patched up and bandaged, with a little yellow smiley-face sticker securing some of the gauze on his leg. Hope flares in his chest at the sight of it.

_ No, stop that. _ He quells the feeling immediately, _ anyone would do that, not just him. _

_...would they? _

__ _ Stop. Now. _

Standing up, Kaito is pleasantly surprised to find that aside from the ever-present soreness in his muscles, the pain he feels is minimal.

_ These people, they couldn’t have...medicine, could they? Just  _ who _ was I rescued by? _

After a few minutes of testing his weight and making sure he can walk, Kaito leaves the room and follows the hushed sound of voices down the hall. Even as he gets closer, the only thing he can make out is the phrase “tell him” being repeated in multiple instances. By the time he rounds the corner, the people arguing have come to a stand-still, the tension so thick it feels suffocating even to him. A familiar voice speaks up.

“Oh, Momota-kun.” Rantaro Amami says to him. “You’re awake.”

Six pairs of eyes turn to him, and Kaito’s chest fills with a resigned sort of disappointment when he notices that none are purple. “Oh, uh, hey Amami. Good to see ya.” Still though, he’s infinitely grateful to no longer be on his own, and to see a familiar face too…

“Hey! Don’t forget me, Homota!”

Scratch that:  _ two _ familiar faces.

Kaito stifles the first laugh he’s felt since the outbreak began. “Hi, Iruma. Glad to see you’re still...yourself.”

“Damn right!” The inventor exclaims, tossing back her hair. “Not even the apocalypse can stop this gorgeous girl genius!”

“How are you feeling, Momota-kun?” A tall redheaded man steps forward. “Better, I hope.”

“‘I could run a marathon!” Kaito flashes a thumbs up and a million-dollar smile. “Haven’t felt this great in weeks!”

“Good to hear. Our orders were to help you as much as we possibly could, and luckily, we had the supplies to do it.”

_ Orders? _ Kaito wonders, but decides not to pry. “Well thanks a ton, man! Can’t believe you’ve actually got some fucking medicine around here.”

“Ah, well.” Rantaro smiles ruefully, “our leader is awfully good at getting what he wants.”

“Your leader?” Kaito questions, eyebrows raised.

Rantaro sighs. “Right. So. About that--”

The door Kaito had come through flies open. “Nishishi~ Why don’t we move this discussion to the kitchen, hm? Kaito must be hun--  _ ah!” _

Kaito whirls around, cutting the newcomer off with a strong bear hug.

Instantly, he knows something is wrong. Kokichi doesn’t hug him back; in fact, he barely even reacts. His body tenses completely, and Kaito can barely even hear it when he hisses at him to  _ “let. Me. Go.” _ Kaito steps back fast enough that he manages to catch a glimpse of Kokichi’s fear-stricken expression before the smaller boy turns his back on him.

That’s when Kaito notices just how little he’s wearing, crop top and booty shorts showing off far too much skin for this time of year. The checkered scarf around his neck is probably the only thing keeping him warm.

It’s probably because of that fact that he seems to be fighting against moving back towards Kaito, steeling his resolve in order to say “like I said, let’s get you some food.” without so much as a shiver.

Confused yet unbearably relieved to see Kokichi again, Kaito follows him.

Miu and Rantaro trade a nervous glance as they trail behind.

-=+=+=-

“So, um…” Kaito struggles to break the awkward silence as they eat what he assumes is supposed to be soup. “Who--”

“They’re what’s left of DICE.” Kokichi murmurs, interrupting him in a tone Kaito knows all too well. It’s a resigned acceptance, acknowledgement of a fact that cannot be changed. He doesn’t want pity. It wells in Kaito’s chest all the same, swirling around his heart, but he pushes it down and simply nods, knowing that verbalizing such a feeling would only upset his boyfriend further.

“Right.” Another awkward pause follows. “Where are we?”

“DICE hideout. I kept it stocked with enough food and water for eleven people in the case of disaster, using the stipends we got from Hope’s Peak. Should last us a few more weeks if we ration it right.”

“Guess your paranoia paid off, huh?” Kaito tries to joke just like they used to, but it falls flat in the face of Kokichi’s apathy. Silence reigns once more, and the former astronaut clenches a fist in frustration.

“How was it today Ouma? The, er...scavenging?” Miu asks softly, none of her usual crassness showing through.

Kokichi hesitates, stirring his spoon around in his bowl, occasionally taking small bites and working his jaw as though it was sore.

_ But why would… _

“Ouma?” She repeats, and Kaito is taken aback by the lack of a vulgar nickname.

“I’ve had better days.” Kokichi fidgets with the fraying edge of his scarf, staring into his soup as though the stale vegetables inside will show him an escape to this horrid conversation. Bruises dot the pale skin of his wrists.

“Do you have to go far?” Kaito wonders out loud, thinking back on what Kokichi had said about their location. “If you’ve been here for this long, surely there’s nothing left to scavenge. And for things like medical supplies...”

A rueful smile twitches Kokichi’s lips upward, the same kind Rantaro had worn earlier. “Nope. Don’t have to go far at all, Kaito. Getting what you want is easy, after all…” he leans a bit closer to Kaito, something dark and powerful in his eyes, “when you have something to give~”

Then he stands up, not even bothering to mask the way his hand flies to his lower back, bracing himself against a growing soreness. “I’m going to bed.” His tone is final, leaving behind a half-empty bowl of soup and a pensive astronaut.

“By the way,” Rantaro says, after several beats of silence, “you two share a room.”

-=+=+=-

When Kaito pushes open the door to their room that night, his heart drops into his stomach. Kokichi is curled up in the fetal position on the bed, wearing nothing but his scarf and a t-shirt Kaito recognizes as his own, sobbing into the pillow he’s holding against his chest. It’s clear he’s trying to push back the tears, but every time he goes silent his entire body trembles until he’s forced to release yet another pained sound.

“‘Kichi,” Kaito whispers, laying down on his own side of the bed. “It’s okay.”

Kokichi shakes his head, clutching the pillow even tighter.

“I love you, Kokichi. I’m not going to judge you for this.”

Violet eyes peek out from beneath inky lashes, narrowed skeptically, appraising Kaito’s claim. “But...but I’m..I’m  _ dirty, _ Kaito.” He hiccups. “I’m  _ disgusting. _ I’m a  _ whore. _ ”

It’s Kaito’s turn to shake his head now. “No, you’re not. You did what you had to do to survive in a broken world. Nobody can blame you for that.”

“You’re-You’re lying,” Kokichi whimpers, breath hitching when strong arms envelop him in a loose embrace. He thrusts the pillow away and snuggles closer, sobs growing louder as Kaito’s warmth floods his frail body.

“You know better than anyone that I’m not.” The taller boy whispers, raising a hand to brush Kokichi’s hair out of his eyes. “You always say I’m a terrible liar, so look at me. Believe me when I say I love you.”

The leader’s breath comes out in a whine as he grabs the hand in his much smaller one and places it on his lower back. Recognition flashes in Kaito’s eyes, and he smiles softly as he begins to lightly massage the area. It’s a familiar rhythm, born of affection and love that was sometimes a little too rough.

Though he winces at first, Kokichi starts to hum contentedly, resting his head against the astronaut’s chest. The arms are strong, but do not hold him down. The hands are rough, but caress him gently. Kaito is warm, and safe, and comfortable. Even on this horrible, dying Earth, Kaito is, and always will be, home.

“I believe you. And I...I love you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> *cries in writer's block*


End file.
